Sewing needle holder



Oct. 6, 1953 w. J. SPENCER 2,654,513

SEWING NEEDLE HOLDER Filed April 9, 1952 lzfl li ||||||||||l||| ATTOlP/VEY' Patented Oct. 6, 1953 2,654,513 SEWINGrNEEDLE HOLDER i lar J.Sp n Whitc tona. N- Application AprikQ, 1952, ScrialNo;281;419

' 3 Claims. (c1. 223.-..-:1109) This invention relates-e120 .a sewing.nee'dle holder.

The principal object.of this invention ais.th,e ;provision .of .a sewingneedle holder which :may

be mounted in'therholeof -a conventional spool .ofthread; Althoughthe-principal-application.of this iholderi is to sewing needles, it.will :be ifully :appreciated :that it :is equally well adapted "toreceiveand'hold pins of the .type usedinpinning sup ;;hems and the like.

The needle holder hereinyclaimedsisa tubular device whose shape anddimensions aressuchlas .toienableitzto.enterrthe hole-of.-a sewingthread 2513.013].v .It; is providedwithzmeans for frictionally.engagingathe spool toaprevent it :from :falling. out @Qf :the (hole.".It 118581180 provided-with stop .means gfor :preventing it- :from:being pushed too. deeply into the hole.

.Aniimportantfeature of the present device is its closed end portionwhich prevents the needles 1 from passing completely through -thehole'ofithe spool. 'Ihis :;1OS edfnd QQ1l7i QI1:iS- made of a relativelysoft material, namely, thermoplastic plastics, or any other relativelysoft material, to prev n niu y p nt .Q l lh other important feature isthe use of acetonetreated felt to hold the needles in place in saiddevice until they are needed. Acetone-treated felt has been found to bean ideal material for the purposes of this invention. The needlesreadily penetrate this material, but once they are inserted therein, thematerial tends to grip the sides of the needles and to prevent theiraccidental dislodgment. Furthermore, the material tends to close up theholes that the needles form therein, after the needles are withdrawntherefrom, to readapt itself for re-insertion of said needles. Thepresent device also possesses other features and advantages which willbecome apparent from a reading of the specification.

Preferred forms of this invention are shown in the accompanying drawingin which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional sewing thread spool,showing a needle holder made in accordance with one form of thisinvention mounted in the hole of said spool, and also showing aplurality of needles mounted in said needle holder.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side View of showing it partly broken away toexpose the needle holder which is mounted in its hole, the upper portionof said needle holder, including the felt, being shown in verticalsection.

Fig. 3 is a side view of the needle holder looking in the direction ofarrows 3, 3' of Fig. 2.

said spool,

needles. .An-

Fig. 4 a transverse sectionon --the-li-ne 4-4 -of Fig.

Fig; 5 isa sideview of a needle holder -made-in accordance witha-secondform of-this invention.

Fig. B-isa sideview of a-needle holder=made in accordance withathird'form of this'invention.

Needle holder Hi; made in accordance with-this invention, comprises thefollowing component parts:

A tubular housing l zpa plug l tservi'ngas-a :iloor for said tubularhousing, a felt cap -I-6 secured'to the top end of said' tubularhousing, and a ring l8 which-serves-as a retaining-ring or collar -toassist in securing the felt cap -'-to the tubular housing and also to Iserve as --a stop -member to prevent =the--tubular housing from beinginserted too deeply into =hole'--2-El of conventionalsewing thread:spool 2-2. It is-cl'early shown in Fig. 2 that the tubular housing I2is-dimerrsionally adapted for insertion into said hole- 26 and that itis pinched intermediate its ends to provide protuberanoes ill! to:frictionally engage thespool and-thereby prevent accidentaldislodg-:ment of :said tubular-housing from-said '-hole in :the spool.

"-Tubul'ar'housing A $2 plug l l-and ring L l il may be made of anysuitable material, preferably thermoplastic plastics, especiallycellulose acetate. Acetone is a good solvent for such material and theapplication of acetone to plug I 4 and the lower end of tubular housingI2 will plasticize their respective surfaces sufficiently to cause themto adhere to each other when Felt cap I5 may also be treated withacetone to plasticize the upper, outer end portion of the tubularhousing and thereby to cause adherence between the felt and the tubularhousing upon setting of the plasticized portion. By the same token, theinner surface of ring i8 plasticizes when said ring is slipped over thefelt cap to hold it in place on the tubular housing. When theplasticized inner surface of the ring sets, it adheres to the felt cap.The felt is thereby secured afiixed to the top of the tubular housingand the ring is thereby securely ailixed to the felt.

When needles 26 are inserted through the felt cap IS into tubularhousing I2, their depth of penetration, so to speak is limited by plugM. In other words, plug I 4 serves as a floor which stops the downwardmovement of the needles. Since the plug is made of relatively softplastics, engagement between the needles and said plug will not dull thepoints of the needles.

The foregoing is illustrative of a preferred .form of this invention. Itwill be clearly underthey finally set. 1

stood that modifications may be incorporated into this preferred form ofthe invention and other forms thereof may be provided within the broadspirit of the invention and the broad scope of the claims. For example,the materials above specified may be varied within the limitationsherein imposed. Frictional engagement between the tubular housing andthe spool may also be provided in ways and by means other than thatshown in the drawing and above described. Means other than acetone maybe employed to secure the several component parts of the devicetogether. For example, a suitable cement or adhesive may be employed forthis purpose.

Referring now to Fig. 5 of the drawing, it will be seen that needleholder 30 made in accordance with the second form of this inventionconstitutes but two component parts; a tubular housing 32 and a cap 34for said housing. The tubular housing 32 is molded of plastics, such asthermoplastic plastics, and lateral projection 35 may be providedthereon by means of the same molding operation by which the housing isitself made. This lateral projection frictionally engages the side wallof the hole of the spool of thread so as to prevent accidentaldislodgment of said housing relative to said spool. Cap 34 may be madeof felt or any other material which a needle will readily penetrate andyieldingly hold the needle after it is inserted therein. lhe cap issecured to the open top end of tubular housing 32 by means of a cementor a solvent or by any other suitable means. If a solvent is used, itshould be of a type which will dissolve or plasticise the material ofwhich the housing is made. The bottom end of the housing is closed asthe drawing will clearly show and said bottom end is integral with themain body of the tubular housing.

Fig. 6 illustrates a third form of this invention, this form beingsimilar to that shown in Fig. 5 with the sole exception that a plug 38is substituted as a closure for tubular housing 32 in place of cap 34.This plug is inserted into the open top end of the tubular housingand itis held in place therein by meansof a cement or a the spool in order tosolvent or by any other suitable means. Plug 38 may also be made of feltor of any other material which a needle will readily penetrate and whichwill hold the needle in place once penetration has taken place.

I claim:

1. A needle holder which is adapted to be inserted into the hole of aspool of thread, said needle holder comprising, a thermoplastic tubularhousing which is closed at its lower end, a felt cap mounted on theupper end of said tubular housing, a thermoplastic ring encircling saidfelt cap and securing it to said tubular housing, and at least onelaterally projecting prominence formed on said tubular housing to engagefrictionally retain said needle holder in said spool against accidentaldislodgment of said needle holder from said spool.

2. A needle holder in accordance with claim 1, wherein the outer surfaceof the tubular housing and the inner surface of the retaining ring arepartly plasticized for adhesion-with said felt cap to secure said feltcap to thetubular housing and to secure said ring to said felt cap, saidring being of a diameter which exceeds the diameter of the hole of thespool into which the needle holder is'inserted to enable said ring toserve as a stop member against thespool to prevent insertion of theentire needle holder into the spool and to facilitate removal of theneedle holder from the spool.

3. A needle holder in accordance with claim 1, wherein the laterallyprojecting prominence which frictionally engages the spool to preventaccidental dislodgment of the. needle holder is a pinched portion formedin said tubular housing intermediate its ends.

. WILLARD J. SPENCER.

, References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSNumber Name Date j 922,893 Hawkes May 25, 1969

